The present invention generally relates to a method and system that can monitor state and event information of a remote device and communicate the information over the Internet to a central information system. The central information system can analyze the state and event information to determine the condition of the remote device and/or whether the remote device needs preventative or reparative maintenance.
Maintenance and repairs for devices are expensive. Often the cost of preventative maintenance is less than that required for repairs or replacement of parts of a device. By identifying potential problems, repairs and their associated costs can be avoided. Some devices have sensors to determine their own states, some of which are locally communicated to the device user through a display (e.g., a low toner display of a copier). Such displays will indicate to the owner when action should be taken locally to correct any potential problems with the device.
Motor vehicle owners spend time and money to keep their motor vehicle in good condition. Worn out parts or low fluid levels if not repaired or replace quickly can damage other parts of the motor vehicle. Accidents or expensive repairs may result if repairs or replacement are not performed immediately (e.g., rotors need replacement if brake shoes are not replaced for a car). Motor vehicles have sensors to determine the state of the motor vehicle, some of which locally communicate their state to the owner through the gauges (e.g., temperature of radiator, voltage of the battery, oil pressure, and gas level in a car). Those gauges will locally indicate to the owner when action should be taken to correct any potential problems with the motor vehicle.
Internet communication is becoming increasingly popular. Examples of Internet communication include RFC 2298—An Extensible Message Format for Message Disposition Notifications and “Web on Wheels: Toward Internet Enabled Cars” by A. Jameel, M. Stuempfle, D. Jiang, and A. Fuchs, 1998 IEEE Vol. 31, No. 1: January 1998, pp. 69-76. The contents of both of those articles are incorporated herein by reference.